The healthcare ecosystem is rapidly and continuously evolving, and as pharmacists take a larger role in managing the day-to-day care of patients, pharmacists need to stay on top of the latest developments in health IT, including the newest regulations and legislation. Read more...

A lack of care coordination costs the United States an estimated $148-$226 billion annually, but these numbers can change for the better. Health systems like SSM Health in St. Louis are implementing new technologies that will dramatically improve care coordination, leading to increased safety, lower costs and higher quality care. Read more...

The key driver of better care coordination is patient data that is easily accessible and shareable. However, data silos among disparate systems have made true nationwide interoperability - and the potential for better care - a challenge. Read more...

With significant bipartisan support, President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act, and it became law on December 13, 2016. The act allocates nearly $5 billion to the National Institute of Health (NIH) to advance the President's Precision Medicine Initiative and support Vice President Biden's "cancer moonshot" In addition, several of the Act's provisions directly impact digital health. Read more...

If you're like most Americans, you've probably asked yourself, "Why doesn't my doctor have my health records?" or, "Why do I have to fill out the same forms at the doctor's office every time?" or "Why isn't my prescription ready at the pharmacy?" Read more...

This week I had the pleasure of going to St. Louis, Missouri with Carequality and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to visit healthcare clinics and a long-term care nursing facility to see real-world health data sharing. National Coordinator, Dr. Vindell Washington spent the day touring multiple sites using Carequality Interoperability Framework. Read more...

Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 29, 2016, at 2:30 PM ET, as Surescripts convenes some of healthcare technology's most highly regarded thought leaders for a live streaming video chat: The State of Health IT and the Business of Interoperability. Read more...

In 2015, Surescripts drove a massive digital shift in healthcare, processing 9.7 billion transactions across our nationwide health information network. In fact, each day, we processed an average of 3.8 million electronic prescriptions in the United States, surpassing giants Amazon (3 million packages each day) and Uber (1 million rides each day worldwide). Read more...

Our 2015 National Progress Report is chock full of good news. There's no question that the entire healthcare ecosystem is embracing the potential of a fully digitized healthcare system. Providers and pharmacists are increasingly accessing and exchanging critical patient information where and when they need it most. Read more...

At SSM Health, a Catholic not for profit health system in St. Louis, investing in interoperability is a top priority. The organization's focus on improving health information exchange not only helps them deliver better care, but more recently, it also ensures that SSM Health providers have access to the critical information they need, where and when they need it. Read more...

According to the CDC, cancer and heart disease rank among the top killers in the United States. Each was responsible for 600,000 deaths in 2014 alone. Some researchers now contend that in reality, medical errors should rank third on the list, reinforcing why health information exchange and patient data access are literally life threatening issues today. Read more...

What happens when renowned Beth Israel CIO and Harvard professor John Halamka explores what it will take to achieve real healthcare interoperability with a panel of fellow health IT leaders? An engaging, standing-room only discussion at HIMSS'16 in Las Vegas last month. Read more...

As noted by National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo, M.D., private sector partnerships and mutual accountability are two of the main drivers for us as a Nation to achieve true interoperability across the country. At Surescripts, we applaud ONC for keeping the focus where it counts through the development of the Interoperability Roadmap and by obtaining the pledges of community commitment and support. Read more...

At its core, what is the ideal state of interoperability? How far are we from achieving that utopia, and where must we focus in the near future to achieve progress and move interoperability forward? In advance of HIMSS16, we posed similar questions to a few of our industry partners and featured speakers at our HIMSS panel on advancing interoperability. Read more...

Ensuring providers have access to patient information in real-time is one of the most important ways that health IT can improve quality. When providers don't have this information - coupled with the shift towards value-based care - patients aren't the only ones who stand to suffer. Read more...

Connectivity, interoperability and seamless information exchange are necessities in today's data-driven environment. And though there are many different approaches and initiatives underway, we are still waiting to see quality drastically improved and disparate networks truly connected. Read more...

As exemplified already by these first few weeks of 2016, health IT leaders certainly have a lot on their plates this year. Regulations and standards are changing, value trumps volume, the market is evolving, and the patient is moving to the center. Read more...

October 7th was a hallmark day for health IT - with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services publishing its Meaningful Use stage 3 final rule and Certification final rule, as well as the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology releasing the final version of its Interoperability Roadmap. Read more...

A recent study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates that a lack of care coordination "can lead to inappropriate or duplicative tests and procedures that increase health care spending". Read more...